United passenger settles with airline

Greg Nash

The United Airlines passenger violently removed from a flight earlier this month has reached a settlement with the airline, according to multiple reports.

David Dao’s attorney, Thomas Demetrio, praised the airline in a news release for taking full responsibility in its handling of the incident.

“Mr. Munoz said he was going to do the right thing, and he has,” Demetrio said in a news release, referring to United CEO Oscar Munoz.

“In addition, United has taken full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the City of Chicago. For this acceptance of corporate accountability, United is to be applauded.”

The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

{mosads}Earlier this month, Dao boarded a flight when the crew announced that seats were needed to accommodate airline personnel. After compensation was offered and no one volunteered to be bumped from the flight, passengers were selected at random.

Dao refused to give up his seat when randomly selected, and United brought aviation authorities on board to assist with removing him. Video surfaced shortly after the incident show officers forcibly removing Dao from his seat and dragging him down the aisle.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage and calls for congressional hearings.

Reports surfaced earlier this month that the passenger planned to sue the airline over his treatment, which resulted in a concussion, a broken nose and the loss of two teeth.

Dao’s lawyer said he will need to undergo reconstructive surgery.

United Airlines in a new report Thursday admitted “many things went wrong” on the day of the incident.

“This is a turning point for all of us at United and it signals a culture shift toward becoming a better, more customer-focused airline,” Munoz said in a statement.

“Our review shows that many things went wrong that day, but the headline is clear: Our policies got in the way of our values and procedures interfered in doing what’s right.”

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